Flooring for buildings.



No. 698,542; Patented Apr. 29, |902.

0. W. NURCHDSS.

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No. 698,542. Patented Apr. 29, |902.

0. W. NURCROSS. FLOORING FOR BUILDINGS.

(Application filed Nov. 22, 1901.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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UNIT-E1) STATES PATENT CEE-ICE.

ORLANDO-w. Noncnoss, on WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLOORING FOR BUILDINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettsrsnatent No. eeen-i2, dated `April 29, 1902. Application filed November 22.11901. Shei'ialNo. $3,278.` (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may con/cerra- Beit known that I, ORLANDO W. NoRcRoss,

a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Worcester, in the countylof Worcester and State of-Massachusetts, have invented a new `and useful Flooring for Buildings, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to a iioorin g for buildings which has beendesigned with a view of securing the advantages, first, of entirely dispensin g with all girders or door-beams, which have heretofore been regarded as absolutely essential for supportingthe iioors of buildings; second, to provide a form of flooring which will utilize to best advantage the immense crushing strength of concrete, and, third, to provide a strong ineitpensive solid inflexible flooring which can be laidin place by unskilled labor.

To these'ends this invention consists of the flooring and the combinations of parts therewith, as hereinafter described,`and more particularlypointed out in the claims at the end of this specication.

In the accompanying three sheets of drawings, Figure l is a perspective View, partially broken'away, of'a section ofiioorin g support-Q ed and constructed accordingto myinvention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the metallic network of `a loor constructed according to my invention. Fig. 3 is a detail view of two floors constructed according to my inventionv and posts for supporting the same. Fig. e is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the disposition of the metallic network in a iioor constructed according to my invention when it is desired to have a maximum amount of metal at the middle of a span between two posts and also illustrating a spring-prop which may be employed for supporting a'ioor constructed according to my invention after the stagings have been taken down, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of oneof such spring-props.

One of the most serious problems in erecting all classes of buildings is the selection of a proper flooring. The defects of ordinary wooden `loorings and the dangers `from using the same have been almost universally recognized.

The disadvantages 'in the use of ordinary Wooden iioorings are not simply those arising from the danger from re, but on sanitary gronndsalone nothing could possibly be more opposed tothe principles which constitute a healthy dwelling than wooden doors of ordinary type, the inclosedtubes and passages of a wooden floor aording safe retreat in which rats, mice, cockroaches, and other vermin find perfect breeding-quarters, and in constructions where hollow bricks are employed for the ostensible purpose of admitting air for preventing dry rotfrom attacking the timbers the filthy condition ofthe floor-spaces creates positive danger to human health and existence. For these reasons wooden doors are now approved by the best-authorities only for use in the more flimsy and temporary class of constructions. Onthejother hand, a substitute for ordinary wooden iioorings has heretofore never been devised which is sufficiently cheap, durable, and easily handled to be adapted for ordinary dwelling constructions, while even in the larger and more costly buildings many of the iiooring systems now employed are extremely defective.

vIn all classes of buildings, either those of a dwelling type or ofthe larger and more costly buildings, it has heretofore been thought necessary to either rest or'hang the floors upon girders or Hoor-beams.

In the larger types of buildings heavy rolled iron girders are now universally employed and associated with narrower Viioorbeams, each panel or section between thevioo'r-beams constituting, in effect, a separate ,Hoor-section. The use of these heavy iron girders in building constructions is objectionable not only on account of the first cost of the material and on account of the skilled labor required for securing the same in place, but these beams themselves are necessarily frequently in the way, projecting downinto the apartment below the same and being la constant source of annoyance by reason of intersecting light and occupying room. Furthermore, the main beams or girders of a building of this type necessarily have to be inclosed or cased in iii-some suitable manner to protect them from tire and to cover their unsightly appearance.

In a flooring` constructed according to my `invention I propose to entirely dispense with all floor-beams, girders, joists, or other horizontal supports, providing a construction in which a flooring is directly supported upon separated posts. In accomplishing thisV purpose I have succeeded in providing a form'of iiooring Which utilizes the immense crushing strength of concrete to the best possible advantage.

As herein illustrated, a flooring constructed according to my invention consists, essentially, of a panel of concrete having metallic network incased therein, so as to radiate fromv the posts on which the floor rests.

The metallic network of my flooring is formed by strips of suitablewire-netting. In practicel have used a hog wire fencing, which isa fencing of the same class as ordinary poultry Wire fencing, except that the same is made of considerably heavier wire.

In laying a iiooring constructed according to my present invention the posts are first erected, and a temporary staging is built up level with the tops of the posts. Strips ofthe wire-netting are then laid loosely in place on top of the staging. In practice I have laid this wire-netting in straight lines from post to post and also crossing diagonally from post to post. Anumber of layers of this wire-netting are preferably employed, said layers being laid together at their crossing-points in cob-house fashion, the number of such layers depending on the thickness of the iiooring, the Weights to be supported, and the distance separating the posts. The concrete is then spread upon or molded in place on the staging toinclose the metallic network. The character of the concrete employed can be varied according to the supply of material which can be conveniently procured and the requirements to which the flooringis to be submitted. In practiceI have sometimes laid the concrete in layers ofdifferent quality,the lower layer of the ooring which incloses the wire beinglaid with the best quality of concrete available. The center cecrete of the flooring may belaid with cinder concrete or concrete employing some light material as an aggregate, the u pper surface of the flooring, if desired, being finished with a facing of neat Portland cement or the better grades of concrete. This I have found to be of advantage, because, although the cinder Yconcrete is not of as great strength as a rock concrete, the lighter weight of the cinder concrete more than compensates .for the difference in its strength when laid as the center layer of the iiooring, which center layer of the floor being substantially at the neutral axis of the floor is not called upon to resist as heavy strains as the top or bottom layers of the flooring. After a flooring has been laid in this manner it is I Y i j allowed to set or harden for as long a period as can conveniently be done without retarding the construction of the building. In many instances, however, it is desirable to take down the staging used in laying the iooring, so that the same may be moved out of the Way or may be employed for laying the successive floorings above. To provide means for permitting this to be done without endangering the safety of the floors already laid, I have provided for the use of springprops, which are spaced or distributed between the posts and are driven tightly in place to assist in holding up the flooring until the time when the iiooring shallV have set or hardened with sufficient permanence to prevent any possible injury to the iiooring. These spring-props are preferably permitted to remain in place for as long periods as possible, in practice these props being retained until the main construction-work of the building has been entirely completed and the building ready for finishing.

In finishing floorings constructed according to my invention an ordinary wooden flooring may be laid directly on the upper surface of the concrete or may be leveled and supported by thin furrings, while the plastering maybe directly applied to the under surface of the concrete or wire lathing supported therefrom, as preferred.

In a completed flooring constructed according to my invention it will be seen that instead of resting or hanging a flooring in place upon beams or girders the flooring rests upon separated posts or other supports and consists of a single concrete panel having a Wire network inclosed therein in proper position to support the tensile strains, the concrete itself on account of its well known crushing strength having abundant strength for resisting all possible compressions-that is to say, if the forcesacting upon a section of flooring supported -between tWo posts be analyzed it will be found that the tendency of the floor-section to sag between its supports will cause the lower layers ofthe flooring to be under tension while they upper layers of the flooring are under compression, these strains being of course greatest at the top and bottom layers, respectively, and diminishing to zero at the neutral axis near the center of the iiooring. In addition to lthis the weight of a section of flooring causes a shearing strain at its line of contact With its supports. l

The principle upon which I have Worked in constructing my flooring is to permit concrete alone to resist compressions and to supply a maximum amount of metal at points where the flooring is to be subjected to greatest tensions and shearing strains. In carrying out this principle in some instances-for example, where there are wide spans between adjacent posts-I have employed a greater number of layers of Wire-netting near the center of the span than at the ends of the span, the distribution of the metal in any one spanfollowing substantially the same rules that would be followed in distributing material in the construction of flat arches, in all cases the distribution of the metallic network in the iiooring being carefully calculated and varied according to the columnation ofthe building, the thickness of the flooring, and the weights IOO IIO

ISO

to be sustained. Furthermore, in constructing iiooring according to myinvention ot" Vgreater thickness thantfteen inches the center of the iiooring may be left hollow, although l up to about the thickness ot fifteen inches Ii prefer to construct solid loorings. Referring to the accompanying'drawings b reference characters for a detail description of my invention, Adesignates theposts or u'L rights of a building. The post-s A maybe of ordinary cast-iron construction, although` wooden posts may in some cases be em ployed,"

and in other instances, also, I contemplate using posts moldedout of concrete. Resting on top of the posts A are floor-plates B, and resting upon and supported by the floor-plates B is a fiooring comprising a metallic network consisting of strips of wire-netting C, which are laid from post to post and also diagonally between said posts, and concrete D, inclosing the metallic network. The concrete `D may be of uniformcharacter, `if desired, although in some cases, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the bottom layer Dl maybe of the best quality of concrete, whilethe center layer D2'may be formed by cinder concrete, and the top layer D3 may be a facing ot' neat Portland cement or best-quality concrete.` y

The Hoor-plates B above and` below the door may be bolted together by bolts F, eX-

tending through the iiooring, the bolts being molded in place when the` concrete is poured,

andthe posts Amay,\if desired, be bolted to quently desirableto provide for a further temporary supporting ofthe fiooring until` the same becomes so permanently set as to be beyond possibility of injury.

As shown in the third sheet of drawings, to provide temporary supports for a flooring constructed according to my invention after its staging is taken down I preferably use spring-propscomprising end pieces or capitals, each consisting of a plank face 10, a rectangular frame l1, and the metallic springframe 12. Connecting these end pieces is a pipe 13, having rounded ends, extending from which are pins `14, engaging sockets in the spring-frame. Insettingthespring-snpports in place the top and bottom pieces are set slightly out of line, the connecting-pipe 13 being of sufficient length, so that when the bottom piece isdriven into place beneath the top piece the spring-frames will be slightly compressed to support the flooring.

When flooring of a greater depth than fit'- teen inches is required or when lightness is absolutely essential, instead. of employing a solid iiooring myinvention 'may be embodied in a hollow iiooring.` `A construction for this, purpose is illustrated in Fig. 3, in which a `hollow iiooring isfshowmconsisting ofa bot-A tom section M, tapering upright sectlonsN,`

and a top concrete section O. In this construction `the `wire` network C is ordinarily employed only in the `lower concrete section M; but, if desired, a skeleton framing of network may be employed, so as 'toA` reinforce both the top and bottom sections M and N,

the attached section of iiooring at the left of Fig.

The construction `I preferably employ for eXtra-wide spans between the posts A is illustrated in Fig. 4. As shown in this figure, in addition i to the lengths of wire netting C, which are laid from post to post, short lengths C of wire-netting are laid Vnear the center of the span between the posts, so that theV distribution of metal inawide span of this charactor would be similar to the distribution of material adopted in constructing fiat arches.

Considering now a completed iiooring constructed according to my invention as compared with ordinary Wooden oorings, I have as well as the top sections O, as illustrated in provided a reproof construction which has no sanitary objections and which can be laid by unskilled labor, while compared with the so-called iireproof floorings employed in the more expensive types of buildings I have y provided a iiooring which entirely dispenses with theuse of grders,` floor-beams, and, in fact, any class of rolled ironwork, \while the strength of my tiooring I have found `by actual tests will compare favorably with any of the more common forms of terra-cotta or combination flooring, and I have actually demonstrated this to be the fact by employing floors constructed according to the invention herein described in buildings Where only the highest grades of construction could possibly be employed.

I am aware that numerous changes may be y made in practicing my invention by those who are skilled in the art without departing from the scope thereof as expressed inthe claims.

I do not wish, therefore, to be limited to the constructions I have herein shown anddescribed; but What I do claim, and desire to secure "by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. The combination of separated posts or supports, and a flooring consisting of `metallic network formed by strips of Wire-netting inclosed therein, so as to radiate from the posts or supports on which the floor rests.

2. Aiiooring resting on separated supports, and consisting of concrete with metallic network so arranged therein th at the amount'of metal will be greatest at the points where the greatest tensile and shearing strains are to be supported. i

A flooring restingon separated posts, and consisting of metallic network formed by IOO IIO

strips ot' wire-netting laid from post to post Work inclosed in the bottom layer thereof, to cross each other in cob-house fashion, and with the body portion of said concrete of concrete inelosing the metallic network. lighter materialthan the bottom layer thereof.

4. A flooring resting on separated posts, In testimony whereof I have hereunto set I5 5 and consisting of metallic network formed by my hand in the presence of two subscribing strips of Wire-netting laid from post to post, witnesses. and on the diagonals of the figures outlined by the posts, and concrete inelosing the me- ORLANDO W' NORCROSS' tallie network. Witnesses: 1o 5. A flooring resting on separated supports, JOHN R. BURGESS, f

consisting of concrete h-(tvingv a metallic net- PHILIP W. SOUTHGATE. 

